Do the rough areas of Dallas compare to rough areas of other major cities (Houston: transplants, apartments)

[DAX_]

I have been looking for places to move to in the city, and a lot of people, online and offline alike, look at me crazy when I say I want to move to Oakcliff.

My question is for the locals who have traveled and are familiar with the city, and the transplants alike, are the ghettos or Dallas THAT bad/dangerous to where not even a lower cost of living makes it worth living there? In NYC alot of people live in the "hood" for cheaper rent, but are just fine due to gentrification and lowering crime rate.

I would of guessed Dallas is the same way, but some people think different.

So are Oakcliff, South Dallas, and Pleasant Grove as deadly and violent, as say the worst neighborhoods in cities like LA, Chicago, Philly, Houston, etc..

[DAX_]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVTG8lg6y8


Example

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by DAX_

I have been looking for places to move to in the city, and a lot of people, online and offline alike, look at me crazy when I say I want to move to Oakcliff.

My question is for the locals who have traveled and are familiar with the city, and the transplants alike, are the ghettos or Dallas THAT bad/dangerous to where not even a lower cost of living makes it worth living there? In NYC alot of people live in the "hood" for cheaper rent, but are just fine due to gentrification and lowering crime rate.

I would of guessed Dallas is the same way, but some people think different.

So are Oakcliff, South Dallas, and Pleasant Grove as deadly and violent, as say the worst neighborhoods in cities like LA, Chicago, Philly, Houston, etc..

In short: no, the bad parts of Dallas arn't as bad as the bad parts of Atlanta, Chicago, Philly, Houston, DC, LA, Baltimore, Detroit so on and so forth. I used to contract with DISD and used to go to all the schools in south and east Dallas, and the majority of South Dallas isn't really that bad.

Back in the 90s, allegedly the projects in Bonton were so bad the cops wouldn't go there without like 4 cars or something, but I didn't live here then so thats just what I've heard.

Currently i believe the area around Love Field has some of the highest crime rates, as well as North East Dallas, but I have friends who live in Bluffview near Love and that area is gentrifying like crazy right now.

I wouldn't be worried about OC, unless you mean OC to be all of south Dallas, then it depends on the specific place you are talking about. I had someone think PG was part of OC once which was hilarious. Then again I met a kid from Plano once who thought Lower Greenville was "Part of Downtown"

All of my older coworkers 40+ are way more sketched out by OC than I ever was, It was already pretty gentrified when I moved here 8 years ago, but I honestly doubt it ever reached the level of neglect they seem to think it did, even at it's worst. Then again, they are from that "Cities are SCARY" generation, so there is that.

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

All of my older coworkers 40+ are way more sketched out by OC than I ever was, It was already pretty gentrified when I moved here 8 years ago, but I honestly doubt it ever reached the level of neglect they seem to think it did, even at it's worst. Then again, they are from that "Cities are SCARY" generation, so there is that.

Your coworkers are right. You only know what OC was like 8 years ago, 20+ years ago, it was not a place you'd go after dark if you were white.

I actually got shot at and chased after a concert down in Fair Park and we took a wrong turn and ended up trying to turn around in the Oak Cliff area, we were very lucky. Got a bullet hole in the rear quarter panel of my car that night.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I work in Oak Cliff near the VA Hospital. I am not worried in the day but night, well, I've never been there at night. Day time is perfectly safe. There are areas off Illinois Ave to the east of I-35 where houses are neat, yards maintained, no wife-beater shirt guys sitting around on the stoop, all the cars are newish and I good condition. There are some apartments on the west side of I-35 and Overton, look nice but never been back in there.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by DAX_

I have been looking for places to move to in the city, and a lot of people, online and offline alike, look at me crazy when I say I want to move to Oakcliff.

My question is for the locals who have traveled and are familiar with the city, and the transplants alike, are the ghettos or Dallas THAT bad/dangerous to where not even a lower cost of living makes it worth living there? In NYC alot of people live in the "hood" for cheaper rent, but are just fine due to gentrification and lowering crime rate.

I would of guessed Dallas is the same way, but some people think different.

So are Oakcliff, South Dallas, and Pleasant Grove as deadly and violent, as say the worst neighborhoods in cities like LA, Chicago, Philly, Houston, etc..

Oak Cliff is a huge area, it depends on where. Your level of safety can literally vary block-by-block.

Take a look at this area - I would recommend avoiding the dark areas in Oak Cliff.

In general I would say the areas around I-35 and Illinois Ave are among the worst.

Also, no, I don't think the worst parts of Oak Cliff/Dallas are as bad as the worst parts of LA, Chicago, Philly, etc.

[Dallaz]

I grew up in Oak Cliff (South Oak Cliff to be exact), it really depends on where you are. Oak Cliff is so massive that it has really, really nice parts and it has areas that literally look like the slums. Some parts of Oak Cliff, I just wouldn’t mess with (that’s based on my knowledge of the area), but all of Oak Cliff is NOT dangerous. For some reason, people actually believe there’s bullets flying randomly and that all Oak Cliff residents live in shacks or the projects.

Again, there’s parts of Oak Cliff where crime is a thing. For Example: the intersection of Ledbetter Drive (Loop 12) and Bonnie View Road/Sunnyvale Street isn’t particularly safe. People do get shot, robbed, and murdered in that area. Drug houses and “crackheads” are in abundance. I’m not going to lie, you’re going to see many people walking the streets panhandling for money. The vast majority of them are strung out on drugs. Since they are looking for a high, they are very aggressive in their quest for money. They are NOT the typical panhandler. They will literally walk up to your car door and think it’s totally ok. It’s quite sad, shocking, and possibly scary if you’ve never seen it before. (Basically, if you live/grew up in the Northern Suburbs or an affluent section of Dallas...it will come as a surprise)

I will say, parts of Oak Cliff are gentrifying. North Oak Cliff is seeing redevelopment like crazy! I hope what I’m about to say doesn’t offend anyone, I apologize in advance if it does. I was passing through the Bishop Arts District and was shocked at how many white people were there. That’s something I’m not use to seeing at all! The numerous construction cranes and apartments being built is amazing. I would recommend anyone to buy into that neighborhood because it’s going to be something really special. The City put a streetcar line in the area too. I really believe it’s going to be the next booming area. Again, I seen white people biking down the street in North Oak Cliff. This is where I grew up...honestly, I’ve never seen that many white people in Oak Cliff in my life. Many longtime residents do feel kind of threatened because they fear they will be pushed out due to gentrification.

[ChristieP]

I would say that Pleasant Grove is now what OC was 20 years ago. The Grove has a lot of gang violence and drug problems, and IMHO, it’s not likely to gentrify any time soon.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by Katana49

Your coworkers are right. You only know what OC was like 8 years ago, 20+ years ago, it was not a place you'd go after dark if you were white.

I actually got shot at and chased after a concert down in Fair Park and we took a wrong turn and ended up trying to turn around in the Oak Cliff area, we were very lucky. Got a bullet hole in the rear quarter panel of my car that night.

It depends on where you mean in Oak Cliff. On my small block alone, in the last 5 years we have seen about 12 of the 20 or so homes turn over. The sellers were all white, and all had lived in those houses for 25+ years. Most raised kids here, and all were middle class or above. They kept their houses nice, but between rapid appreciation and the need to downsize in retirement, they decided it was a good time to move on.

Oak Cliff is so large it would be like saying everything north of NW Highway should be avoided just because there are lots of really bad pockets above that line.

[MurphyPl1]

My FIL lives in the Grove. Family land. He's 89. Yes there is crime there and yes there was a young girl that was shot a few weeks ago. But we actually worry more about the stray dogs around there. He's around the corner from where that poor woman was mailed to death last year.

And yes we've tried to get him to move. But he's 89 and working on his goal of 100. And uses his new Mule to get around and take care his 7 acres. Hard to convince him he's not just fine.